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Reinventing the System
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Monday, October 09, 2006Moving beyond the limitations of “self” requires at least one thing in the most absolute terms ... COURAGE. When the courage to evolve becomes present the system expands to make room for the newly emergent form that the “self” has become.
This new form has become more than “self” and yet rather than denying the self, includes the self - this new form has become social and from it the individual can relate to the system as a whole in its entirety - including both self and other without exclusion or preference.
“Myth is the Dream Depersonalized” - Joseph Campbell
The vast majority of material that has been released in regard to "coaching" has been in relation to three typical aspects of what to expect from coaching vs. other modalities, e.g.: therapy, consulting ...
By no means am I suggesting that these three things define coaching in it's entirety. For instance other distinctions between coaching and therapy might be the tendency for therapy to focus on the individual's past and their psychological health/wellbeing, while coaching tends to focus on the future and the individual's functional and skills development capacity.
So we could then add these two aspects to the list of the aspects of coaching listed above:
These aspects aren't unique to coaching per se, however in combination this list of aspects begins to create a sense of what defines and separates coaching from other helping or service disciplines.
I have to say up-front I'm somewhat "conflicted" (notice the quotes) about coaching. Generally I don't like coaching personally - either as a methodology to employ for myself, i.e.: hiring a coach, or employing the methodology as I understand it with my clients, i.e.: acting as a coach. At the same time I respect the value of this methodology in the right context, for the right application. In my personal opinion the "right context" for coaching would include entry-level to mid-level employees, and the "right application" would include specifically performance related issues.
Where I'm less excited about "coaching" as I've seen it most typically presented and practiced includes virtually all senior-level/executive applications, and especially those that are strategic in nature. These individuals in my opinion require a much more "advice" oriented interaction than most coaches can offer given the experience they bring into the coaching assignment. I've found this constituent group to be best served by a combination of expert advice and highly effective dialogue about decisions that are in consideration.
So what I'm advocating for senior-level/executive applications would be a Coach-Consultant Practitioner - an individual who brings both the specific expertise and the precise process skill-set to assist these high-level individuals. This has sometimes been referred to as Executive Coaching (vs. Business Coaching or Life Coaching), yet I still advocate for a further distinction from coaching in general. The professional I envision providing this service possesses the knowledge-base of the expert advisor and the experience-base of the process consultant.
The Coach-Consultant would be well suited to acting as a trusted advisor/confidant to a senior-level executive, e.g.: Chairman, CEO, President, Partner, Owner, etc. These individuals are responsible for leading their respective organizations and are expected to provide the vision and presence necessary in leadership roles. Working from a protocol-driven model with such individuals diminishes and degrades the roles they provide in the organization in both my opinion and experience.
The critical distinction I'm advocating here revolves around moving from personal/individual/subjective orientation to a societal-organizational/group/inter-subjective orientation - instead of assisting the individual to perform well within the system the role I'm advocating for assists the individual to build highly functional systems.
The coach-consultant engagement organizes around moving from a "subjective approach" and building individual skills to perform well within the existing system to an "inter-subjective approach" where the system itself becomes the "client" as perceived through the eyes of the senior-level executive - de-personalizing the process.
Of course operating this way provides exactly the input the senior-level executive requires to achieve their intended outcomes in meeting the expectation held as the leader of the system. Creating a successful system ensures the success of the senior-level executive - what may be more significant could be the impact of creating the successful system on the executive personally. Essentially I'm suggesting that by attending to the system's well-being first and foremost the executive will be generating a more profound and satisfying success, systemically and personally, than would have been possible by simply attending to fulfilling their personal intentions - whatever they might be.
In the following days and weeks I'll be offering some of the ideas about how to construct highly-successful coach-consultant engagements that produce systemic successes. Among the propositions I'll be presenting will be that the coach-consultant as I've defined this role will bring a much more embodied approach, as well as a more comprehensive social approach, to the work they do. I envision that these individuals will be working towards designing more sustainable social systems that pervade the entire system through space (i.e.: where ever they may be located) and provide much greater continuity through time (a long view in regard to the impact and consequences of the actions under consideration).
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D., Social Ontology
Princeton, NJ
PS - For a very specific presentation of the model I'm suggesting in terms of embodiment I recommend "Beyond The Obvious" and introduction to the EPC2(tm) - Exquisite Performance Coaching model. This single CD overviews the entire concept of building a teleological position and using that position to inform the present in terms of the decision-making considerations, as well as presenting the application of a highly somatically driven coaching process. The overall effect generates the embodied sense performance that transcends the limitation of purely cognitive, linear decision-making models.
Go to: "Beyond The Obvious"
PPS - For a more complete presentation of the entire EPC2 - Exquisite Performance Coaching consider the "EPC Series One - Exquisite Performance Coaching" four-CD audio program. In this set I begin with the idea of teleological model - creating a future-pull in the system, through eliminating the limitations in the system from the past, generating a profoundly powerful and singular system, to going beyond the existing constraints in the system as they are known to be today.
Read more about this set at: "EPC Series One - Exquisite Performance Coaching"
(3) Comments • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink
Joseph,
This focus on creating a sustainable system, within the larger set of an everchanging world stage is the chimera of corporate leaders.
Having worked for one of the largest corporations in the world for 11 years, I watched sometimes in utter disbelief, as decisions were made in reaction to events that were in motion within an unpredictable, and competitive marketplace; that were so unvisionary(not sure if that’s a word), they were doomed before they were even adopted.
I remember the example you gave in Tiburon, of the CEO of Caterpillar, and how in the face of falling US revenues, he envisioned, and executed a plan to be ready for the explosion of growth that would take place in China, but hadn’t happened yet. Resulting in a huge positive outcome for the company.
This type of behavior, the ability to be totally honest with “where are we now”, “where do we want to be in the next 5 or 10 years”, and “what would have to be true for that to be true”, automatically shifts the focus of a leader from a reactive, to a proactive course. It requires a willingness to be wrong, as well as right, and make corrections along the way, to build systems in anticipation of what is envisioned, and be flexible, full of faith, after doing ones homework, but not using the same old linear information to map the course.
Additionally, the culture, and mission of the corporation must be steeped in the vision. With, I imagine would of necessity be a religiousity, in the adherence to the vision, when the marketplace in the present, does not represent the envisioned marketplace of the future.
When you, (notice I didn’t say “if"), perfect this model, it will revolutionize the way leadership is developed and executed.
Mark,
Thanks for the comments.
Just to keep the record straight my colleague Jeff Leiken actually raised the point about the Catepillar executive, I simply used the example to extrapolate what had gone on there in terms of a teleological orientation. In this case the executive literally went to a future that did not yet exist and manifested the desired outcome there - in effect bringing the system alone with him.
I agree about what it will take to shift to this position I am advocating for in the “corporate” world of CYA politics. In addition you have very serious “Type A,” “Graves Five,” “Power Motivated” and “Acheivement Driven” individuals running the show. These folks are often delusional about their ability to be right in spite of all evidence to the contrary (and we’re not taliing teleologically here either). To adopt another postion we need for two things to happen:
1. A new mandate/charter for corporate/organization leaders from the stakeholders, and
2. Corporate/Organizational Leaders who value the system more than they do their own position within it and the courage to act on these values ...
I will suggest to you that building such systems and entrenching the requisite leaders required to sustain them within these systems will be a significant task - but it is one I am prepared to stake my legacy upon ...
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Consulting I get. Coaching I don’t. So, I appreciate your explanation of both. My favorite word in your post is “sustainable”. We (whoever that is!) have to figure out how to sustain social systems - the systems that we’re creating - especially the ones that work. From practical experience, in the work I do not a day goes by that we don’t ask “is this sustainable?” and “what are the strategies of sustainability?”
Allison
